Tuesday, 25 August 2015

Airtel partners Yuzah to improve diesel delivery in Nigeria

In line with its commitment to continually provide innovative solutions that will enhance the daily lives of Nigerians, leading telecommunications operator, Airtel Nigeria, has launched a mobile app aimed at improving delivery of diesel in Nigeria.

Created in partnership with application developer, Yuzah; the mobile app, also known as ‘Yuzah’ allows users to request instant delivery of diesel to their homes or offices, using their mobile phones. The simplicity of the product and distribution model earned Yuzah, the one million naira prize money in the Airtel catapult-a-startup competition held earlier in the year.

Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Maurice Newa described the service, which is the first-of-its-kind in Nigeria, as part of efforts by the Telco to deliver products and services that offer convenience to its customers.

“Airtel has collaborated with Yuzah, one of the winners of Airtel Catapult-A-Start up competition, to offer Nigerians this unique service which will further enhance their access to diesel and address the inconveniences associated with the logistics involved in delivery,” he said.

According to him, “interested users can download this app on their mobile phones from http://bit.ly/YuzahApp. Once this is done, the app will locate their place on the map and they will be able to see all the diesel trucks within their radius. Users can then order diesel through the app and the product will be delivered within 30-60 minutes once accepted by a Yuzah approved supplier.”

He also explained that the partnership further lent credence to the company’s Catapult-A-Startup, which is driven by its vision to encourage innovation and empower young Nigerians by creating opportunities for them to bring their business ideas to fruition.

“As an organization, we are passionate about building a community for young talented Nigerians. We are aware of the abundance of young people who are blessed with the skills to develop relevant apps with most of them not having the opportunity to showcase or develop their skills. Through the Catapult-a-Startup programme, we aim not only to identify talent, but also to encourage local content”, he noted.

Commenting on the partnership, the Chief Executive Officer of Yuzah.com, Ovo Emorhokpor expressed delight at the partnership and maintained that the service will offer Nigeria optimal convenience to purchase diesel through their mobile phones.

“We are extremely happy and excited about this partnership with Airtel. Yuzah was birthed out of necessity to create a seamless process to purchase diesel and from the initial customer response, we strongly believe the service will be extremely useful to the larger population who use the product. Airtel Nigeria continues to show its growing support for entrepreneurship and innovation in Nigeria, and we believe we will have a successful partnership,” he said.

He also noted that Yuzah guarantees quality services as it performs tank assessment and quality check of its diesel in front of customers before delivery, thereby guaranteeing the delivered product.

The service is currently being rolled out in pilot areas in Lagos, with plans to expand the service to other parts of the country before the end of the year.